by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
As they pay their debt to society, a large number of prisoners are ignoring their debt to the City, creating funding headaches for the City’s Drug Courts.
Jacksonville’s adult and juvenile drug courts lost state funding two years ago when Florida changed the way it funds its court system. The City tried to fill the gap by imposing a $65 fee on felonies, misdemeanor and criminal traffic offenses. But convicts have proven to be unreliable sources of revenue.
The fees were expected to generate about $2.6 million per year but have raised only about half that. That’s because about half the people hit with the fees don’t pay them, said Joseph Stelma, chief deputy court administrator for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
The worst deadbeats have been those sentenced to jail terms, said Stelma.
“Basically, they look at it like, ‘I’m going to jail anyway, why do I need to pay this fine?’” said Stelma.
The fees are currently generating about $36,000 a month for the Drug Court programs. That’s enough to keep them running. But Stelma said the fees are far from a stable funding source. Last year a dip in revenues forced both programs to shut down for four months.
The Drug Courts steer non-violent criminals whose offenses are drug-related away from criminal courts and jail and toward intensive counseling and rehabilitation. The programs aim to keep space in the jail open for violent criminals and to treat drug offenders before they become habitual criminals.
Stelma said the programs have been successful on both counts. Less than one quarter of adult graduates are rearrested, he said. The juvenile rate is better. Out of 500 graduates since 1997, only 44 have been rearrested.
Stelma said the early treatment programs should be a priority for a City trying to reduce violent crime. But a true commitment to the programs will likely require a more reliable funding source, he said.
“The bottom line is, the local government and the community has to step up and decide what we want to accomplish with regards to the rise in crime and the reasons behind it,” he said. “We need to decide if it’s worthwhile to put resources into turning around these youth that are on their way to becoming habitual offenders.”
At City Council Finance chair Daniel Davis’ request, Stelma is researching possible avenues of additional funding for the programs. Davis, a former case manager for Juvenile Drug Court, said the erratic funding source for the programs was “a problem that we need to look at.”
“It’s hard to collect on a debt when the person is going to jail,” said Davis.
The state legislature is considering a bill that would help fund drug courts statewide by creating an additional $6 filing fee, but Stelma isn’t holding his breath waiting for state help. The same bill failed last year.
“From a state and federal perspective, this is a local problem and it should be handled and funded locally,” he said.